Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Heads to Fayetteville for Spring Invitational
March 22, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
MEET NOTES
The Basics
The Oklahoma State track and field program spends spring break in Fayetteville, Arkansas for its second outdoor meet of the season.
At last year's meet, Dave Smith's squads took home four event wins, highlighted by Ieva Zarankaite's two, with her shot put mark placing her into the top-five in school history.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational will be available at FlashResults.com.
To keep up with Oklahoma State's first of four trips to Fayetteville during the season, results and a full recap will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Updates will be given on the team's twitter (@run4okstate) throughout the days of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational will not be streamed online or broadcast on television.
Meet Schedule – All Times CT
The 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational is a two-day meet, set to begin on Friday, March 23.
The first event is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. with the men's hammer throw.
The men's and women's hammer throw is the only event scheduled for Friday, as OSU is scheduled to have one Cowboy in the event.
Saturday's plate will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women's javelin throw and the women's long jump.
Following the the women's events, the men's javelin is set to start at 1:15 p.m. The final field event is set for approximately 6:45 p.m. with the triple jump.
The men's and women's 3,000m steeplechase will be the first track events of the meet, and those are set to start at 3 p.m.
Following those will be the 4x100-relay, the 1,500m run, 100/110m hurdles and the 100m dash.
Afterward, the 800 meters is scheduled for 4:45 p.m., with the 400 meters set to follow.
The final two events of the Spring Invitational will be the 1,500-meter invitational at 7:30 p.m. and as customary, the 4x400 relay will wrap up the event.
Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State track and field program kicked off its outdoor season a weekend ago, as the Pokes earned six event wins at the Tulsa Duels.
Four athletes won their first outdoor events in an OSU uniform. Cheyenne Walden in the 2,000m steeplechase, Schuyler Wood-Hilderbrandt in the long jump, Torrey Hickel in the shot put and Joshua Anadu in the men's long jump.
In the men's 2,000-meter steeplechase, Christian Liddell kicked off the 2018 outdoor season with a victory in 6:08.67. In last year's outdoor season, Liddell earned All-Big 12 honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Sophomore Wesley Hallof earned gold in his premiere event, the javelin throw, with a distance of 51.26m. Hallof narrowly missed out on earning All-Big 12 honors in the event a season ago.
Spring Invitational - 2017
At the Spring Invitational a season ago, the Pokes won four events, and Ieva Zarankaite earned two of those titles in the discus and shot put, with her shot put mark placing her into the top-five in school history.
Rogers, Arkansas, native Christian Liddell ran in the men's steeplechase for the first time in his OSU career and won the race in his home state in a personal best time of 9:18.65.
Liddell's win was the first one of the day for the Pokes on the track, but it wasn't the last as Big 12 champion Abbie Hetherington took first in the seeded running of the 800.
Obliterating Outdoors
The outdoor season has been one that's seen great success under Dave Smith. In his first season as cross country and track and field director, the Cowboys got their first individual outdoor champion since 1985 in German Fernandez. Fernandez took home the title in the men's 1,500 meters and still holds the school record mark in the event.
For the Cowgirls, 2016 was a historic outdoor year for Dave Smith's women's squad. The outdoor season produced five All-Americans: Aurora Dybedokken, Chase Ealey, Ingeborg Loevnes, Kaela Edwards and Savannah Camacho. That mark represents the most women's All-Americans in a single year in program history.
In 2017, the outdoor season saw more of the same, with the Cowboys and Cowgirls both producing three All-Americans.
For the men, the season was highlighted by Hassan Abdi's first Big 12 title, Jacob FIncham-Dukes setting the outdoor school record in the long jump and Josh Thompson's fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.
Some highlights of the Cowgirls' outdoor season were Kaela Edwards and Savannah Camacho's final Big 12 titles and Kaylee Dodd's fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships after finishing ninth overall in the indoor season.
Dave Smith's squads look poised to excel again this year.
Abdi's Legacy
Senior Hassan Abdi has made his mark on the Oklahoma State cross country/track and field dynasty.
Despite having only two years of eligibility after transferring from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, Abdi has made his time at OSU count.
In 2016 — his first season in America's brightest orange — he earned first-team All-America honors in the cross country season being the Cowboys highest finisher at the NCAA Championships. He was also named the men's Big 12 Runner of the Year.
In his junior indoor season, Abdi earned All-Conference honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
Wrapping up his junior year in outdoors, Abdi shined once again, earning All-Big 12 honors and qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in the 10,000 meters.
To kick off his senior year, Abdi once again made a splash in the cross country season. In the fall of 2017, Abdi placed top-two in four of the five races he competed in. The season was highlighted by his Big 12 title, out-kicking teammate Luis Martinez in Round Rock, Texas to take conference gold.
Wrapping up the indoor season two weeks ago, he was the only Cowboy to qualify for the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.
Abdi ran four times for the Cowboys during the season, placing no lower than third in each race he competed in.
The season is highlighted by his Big 12 title in the 3,000 meters and first-team All-America honors in the 5,000 meters. The All-American status was his first individual national honor since joining Oklahoma State.
Abdi will look to further etch his name in OSU lore as he enters his final season in America's brightest orange.
The Basics
The Oklahoma State track and field program spends spring break in Fayetteville, Arkansas for its second outdoor meet of the season.
At last year's meet, Dave Smith's squads took home four event wins, highlighted by Ieva Zarankaite's two, with her shot put mark placing her into the top-five in school history.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational will be available at FlashResults.com.
To keep up with Oklahoma State's first of four trips to Fayetteville during the season, results and a full recap will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Updates will be given on the team's twitter (@run4okstate) throughout the days of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational will not be streamed online or broadcast on television.
Meet Schedule – All Times CT
The 2018 Arkansas Spring Invitational is a two-day meet, set to begin on Friday, March 23.
The first event is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. with the men's hammer throw.
The men's and women's hammer throw is the only event scheduled for Friday, as OSU is scheduled to have one Cowboy in the event.
Saturday's plate will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women's javelin throw and the women's long jump.
Following the the women's events, the men's javelin is set to start at 1:15 p.m. The final field event is set for approximately 6:45 p.m. with the triple jump.
The men's and women's 3,000m steeplechase will be the first track events of the meet, and those are set to start at 3 p.m.
Following those will be the 4x100-relay, the 1,500m run, 100/110m hurdles and the 100m dash.
Afterward, the 800 meters is scheduled for 4:45 p.m., with the 400 meters set to follow.
The final two events of the Spring Invitational will be the 1,500-meter invitational at 7:30 p.m. and as customary, the 4x400 relay will wrap up the event.
Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State track and field program kicked off its outdoor season a weekend ago, as the Pokes earned six event wins at the Tulsa Duels.
Four athletes won their first outdoor events in an OSU uniform. Cheyenne Walden in the 2,000m steeplechase, Schuyler Wood-Hilderbrandt in the long jump, Torrey Hickel in the shot put and Joshua Anadu in the men's long jump.
In the men's 2,000-meter steeplechase, Christian Liddell kicked off the 2018 outdoor season with a victory in 6:08.67. In last year's outdoor season, Liddell earned All-Big 12 honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Sophomore Wesley Hallof earned gold in his premiere event, the javelin throw, with a distance of 51.26m. Hallof narrowly missed out on earning All-Big 12 honors in the event a season ago.
Spring Invitational - 2017
At the Spring Invitational a season ago, the Pokes won four events, and Ieva Zarankaite earned two of those titles in the discus and shot put, with her shot put mark placing her into the top-five in school history.
Rogers, Arkansas, native Christian Liddell ran in the men's steeplechase for the first time in his OSU career and won the race in his home state in a personal best time of 9:18.65.
Liddell's win was the first one of the day for the Pokes on the track, but it wasn't the last as Big 12 champion Abbie Hetherington took first in the seeded running of the 800.
Obliterating Outdoors
The outdoor season has been one that's seen great success under Dave Smith. In his first season as cross country and track and field director, the Cowboys got their first individual outdoor champion since 1985 in German Fernandez. Fernandez took home the title in the men's 1,500 meters and still holds the school record mark in the event.
For the Cowgirls, 2016 was a historic outdoor year for Dave Smith's women's squad. The outdoor season produced five All-Americans: Aurora Dybedokken, Chase Ealey, Ingeborg Loevnes, Kaela Edwards and Savannah Camacho. That mark represents the most women's All-Americans in a single year in program history.
In 2017, the outdoor season saw more of the same, with the Cowboys and Cowgirls both producing three All-Americans.
For the men, the season was highlighted by Hassan Abdi's first Big 12 title, Jacob FIncham-Dukes setting the outdoor school record in the long jump and Josh Thompson's fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.
Some highlights of the Cowgirls' outdoor season were Kaela Edwards and Savannah Camacho's final Big 12 titles and Kaylee Dodd's fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships after finishing ninth overall in the indoor season.
Dave Smith's squads look poised to excel again this year.
Abdi's Legacy
Senior Hassan Abdi has made his mark on the Oklahoma State cross country/track and field dynasty.
Despite having only two years of eligibility after transferring from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, Abdi has made his time at OSU count.
In 2016 — his first season in America's brightest orange — he earned first-team All-America honors in the cross country season being the Cowboys highest finisher at the NCAA Championships. He was also named the men's Big 12 Runner of the Year.
In his junior indoor season, Abdi earned All-Conference honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
Wrapping up his junior year in outdoors, Abdi shined once again, earning All-Big 12 honors and qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in the 10,000 meters.
To kick off his senior year, Abdi once again made a splash in the cross country season. In the fall of 2017, Abdi placed top-two in four of the five races he competed in. The season was highlighted by his Big 12 title, out-kicking teammate Luis Martinez in Round Rock, Texas to take conference gold.
Wrapping up the indoor season two weeks ago, he was the only Cowboy to qualify for the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.
Abdi ran four times for the Cowboys during the season, placing no lower than third in each race he competed in.
The season is highlighted by his Big 12 title in the 3,000 meters and first-team All-America honors in the 5,000 meters. The All-American status was his first individual national honor since joining Oklahoma State.
Abdi will look to further etch his name in OSU lore as he enters his final season in America's brightest orange.
Players Mentioned
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